Generating an Image of the Surroundings of an Articulated Vehicle

Abstract

Systems and methods for generating an image of the surroundings of an articulated vehicle are provided. According to an aspect of the invention, a processor determines a relative position between a first vehicle of an articulated vehicle and a second vehicle of the articulated vehicle; receives a first image from a first camera arranged on the first vehicle and a second image from a second camera arranged on the second vehicle; and combines the first image and the second image based on the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle to generate a combined image of surroundings of the articulated vehicle.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 determining, by a processor, a relative position between a first vehicle of an articulated vehicle and a second vehicle of the articulated vehicle;   receiving, by the processor, a first image from a first camera arranged on the first vehicle and a second image from a second camera arranged on the second vehicle; and   combining, by the processor, the first image and the second image based on the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle to generate a combined image of surroundings of the articulated vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is determined based on an angle between the first vehicle and the second vehicle, and   the angle is measured by an angular sensor arranged on the articulated vehicle.   
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is determined based on a first motion of the first vehicle and a second motion of the second vehicle,   the first motion is measured by at least one first sensor arranged on the first vehicle, and   the second motion is measured by at least one second sensor arranged on the second vehicle.   
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3 , wherein the first motion and the second motion are used to determine an angle between the first vehicle and the second vehicle. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 3 , wherein each of the first motion and the second motion comprises at least one of a vehicle speed, a wheel speed, a yaw rate, or an acceleration. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is determined by detecting at least one feature of the second vehicle that appears in at least two images from the first camera, or   the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is determined by detecting at least one feature of the first vehicle that appears in at least two images from the second camera.   
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 6 , wherein a first one of the images from the first camera is acquired when an angle between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is zero, and a second one of the images from the first camera is acquired when the angle between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is non-zero. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle is determined continuously. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the first image and the second image are combined by rotating the first image and the second image with respect to each other, based on an angle between the first vehicle and the second vehicle. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the first image and the second image are transformed into ground plane images before rotating the first image and the second image. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising superimposing information from an active sensing system on the combined image, wherein components of the active sensing system are arranged on at least one of the first vehicle or the second vehicle. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the components comprise at least one of ultrasonic sensors or radar sensors. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 11 , wherein the information is color-coded to indicate a type and a relevance of objects detected by the active sensing system. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising displaying the combined image and a forward-view image, wherein the forward-view image is acquired by a forward-facing camera arranged on the first vehicle. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the combined image is a birds-eye view image of the surroundings of the articulated vehicle. 
     
     
         16 . A system comprising:
 a first camera arranged on a first vehicle of an articulated vehicle;   a second camera arranged on a second vehicle of the articulated vehicle;   a memory; and   a processor coupled to the memory, the processor comprising:
 position determining logic that determines a relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle; 
 image receiving logic that receives a first image from the first camera and a second image from the second camera; and 
 image combination logic that combines the first image and the second image based on the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle to generate a combined image of surroundings of the articulated vehicle. 
   
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising computer instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to perform a method comprising:
 determining a relative position between a first vehicle of an articulated vehicle and a second vehicle of the articulated vehicle;   receiving images from a first camera arranged on the first vehicle and a second camera arranged on the second vehicle; and   combining the first image and the second image based on the relative position between the first vehicle and the second vehicle to generate a combined image of surroundings of the articulated vehicle.